Suction cleaner



A ri112',193s. E v 2,114,099

SUCTION CLEANER Original Filed Feb. 6, 1951 T mm ' Patented Aim 12,1938 4 PATENT OFFlCE 2,114,099 SUCTION CLEANER Bernard 0. Becker, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, at

' corporation of Ohio Original application February 6, 1931, Serial No. 1514.008. Divided and this application August 24, 1935, S01!!! N0. 37,719

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to suction cleaners in general and particularly to new and novel improvements in suction cleaners in which a power-transmitting belt is connected to a drive 5 shaft in the dirt-laden air stream. More speciflcally, the invention comprises a new and improved suction cleaner construction in which the junction of the driving shaft and the powertransmitting belt is suitably protected without 10 undue interference with the passage of air into the fan chamber.

The present application is a division of application Serial No. 514,008, filed February 6, 1931, which issued as Patent No. 2,053,316.

15 It is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved suction cleaner. It is another object of the invention to provide a new' and improved suction cleaner incorporating a powertransmitting belt in the dirt-laden air stream. A

"still further object is the provision of an improved suction cleaner construction in which the'junc tion of the drive shaft and the power-transmitting belt is positioned in a suitable housing to protect it from the dirt-laden air stream. Another object .is to'provide a new and novel belt housing at the junction of the belt and drive shaft at the eye of the fan chamber. These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-section through a suction cleaner constructed in accordance with the present invention, being a section upon the line i--i' of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the figure shown in 40 Figure l with certain parts broken away and shown in section to illustrate the invention;-

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the belt housing per so.

Referring again to the drawing a modern sucto the fan chamber .10 by an air passageway i,

the bottom wal1-8 of which comprises a removable plate upon which is formed the rear nozzle lip 3 and which is removably secured to the clean- 55 er casing by screws 9, 9 etc., positioned at its than cleaner is illustrated comprising a-noz'zle i,

(Cl. I 15-13) four comers. The junction of the air passageway I and the fan chamber I is at the eye ll of the chamber and is formed by a removable housing I2, which 'is secured inplace through being provided with forwardly extending pins 13, i3 at its forward open end, and with a rearwardly extending cammed shoulder l4 upon its upper rear face which shoulder isremovably secured to the under side of the fan chamber by a manually operable sprlng-pressed detent l5. Fan chamber ifl houses a suction-creating fan IS the driving shaft H of which extends downwardly through the eye ll into the air passageway 1 at the housing H. An exhaust passageway 18 leads from the fan chamber and is provided with a rear face 19 which is adapted to seat removably a dirt-separating membersuch as a dust bag.

Upon the fan chamber in and immediately thereover is'positioned an unshown driving motor within a casing 20, the shaft ll of the motor 20 rotatably carrying the fan 16. The machine'is movably supported upon front wheels 2i, 2i and upon rear wheels 22, 22, the latter being provided with means, indicated generally by the reference character 23, by whichthey may be raised or lowered relative to the body of the machine for the purpose of adjusting the nozzle mouth, the plane of which is. defined by the lips 2 and 3, relative to a surface covering undergoing cleaning. As in the usual suction cleaner, a pivoted handle 24 is provided, including position-retaining means indicated generally at 25, by which the machine may be propelled manually over a surface covering undergoing cleaning.

Upon the lower end of motor shaft i1 within the air passageway I is positioned a driving pulley A power-transmitting belt 21 seats upon pulley 28 and extends through the passageway I into the nozzle proper where it seats upon pulley 5 formed upon agitator 4. J 40 Upon the rotation of the driving motor suction is created within the nozzle i by the suctioncreating fan it which draws air therefrom and exhausts it through the air passageway and exhaust outlet it! into the attached dust bag. This rotation of the motor and ofthe shaft I! also results in the rotation of the agitator 4 within the nozzle which contacts the surface covering lifted between the lips 2 and 3 to impart thereto a beating and brushing action which assists the air in removing the imbedded foreign matter in the surface covering undergoing cleaning. This foreign matter passes rearwardly through the air passageway 'i and into the fan chamber by the means of the eye. II. ,In doing so, however, it

passes the junction of the pulley 2G and belt 2'! and that junction, ii unprotected, often collects foreign matter. According to the present invention a housing member Bil is provided which incloses the junction of pulley 2d and belt 2! and. opens forwardly in the direction of the nomle so that the belt runs freely therein without interference. Housing 39 extends from the underside of the fan chamber is, 1:51: adiacent' the forward point of the eye it], downwardly and rearwardly with its adjacent portion smced from the plane of the eye 9 i by an awreciable distance. Ears 8!, 30 on the top of the housing contact the under side of the fan chamber to provide a positive alignment, the housing being rigidly secured, as by riveting, to the removable bottom plate d by cars 32, 82 which are riveted or secured to that plate. The underside or bottom of housing so is open so that upon the removal of the air 1- i "seway member if the junction of the pulley 28 and of the belt 21 is exposed to view.

'- As is clear in the drawing, the side walls of the housing 30 extend closely adjacent the shaft 26, and the height of the housing is a minimum permitted by the height of the top of the pulley above the bottom wall of air passageway I. The top wall of housing 30 being spaced an appreciable distance below the plane of the fan eye ll makes possible the entrance of air into the fan eye throughout its entire area without appreciable restriction thereto, thereby increasing the fan efllciency. While the forward end of housing ll is open to the nozzle no appreciable volume of dirt-laden airpasses through the housing as the only escape therefrom into the fan is through the top opening 33 which closely surrounds the motor shaft IT at its entrance into the housing. As a result, collection of foreign matter upon the pulley 28 is substantially eliminated.

Because of the fact that housing '80 may be attached to cleaners alreadyin use, the attachment requiring only the removal of the detachable bottom plate 8 and the securing of the housing to the plate by the screws or rivets, it is clear that the present invention has provided a means of improving appreciably not only new machines, but machines alreadyv in use.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated but it is to be understood that the invention is susceptibleof other specific embodiments and is limited only as set forth by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a suction cleaner, a fan chamber, a nonzle, a dirt-laden air passageway extended from said nozzle to the eye of said chamber, a drive ft extended through said chamber and into said passageway, a fan on said shaft in said chamber, a power transmitting belt connected to said shaft adjacent the eye of said chamber, a belt housing enclosing said belt and shaft at their junction and formed with a belt-receiving opening in said passageway facing toward said nozzle, a wall of said housing contacting the fan chamber forward of the eye therein and sloping outweirdly therefrom to be'spaced from said eye opposite thereto, said housing extending closely adjacent said belt and shaft and offering a minimum of obstruction tofiow of dirt-laden airinto said fan chamber.

2. Ina suction cleaner of the belt driven agitator type, a fan chamber having aneye, an air passageway extended along said chamber to said eye, a drive shaft extended through said chamber into said passageway, a fan on 'said shaft in said chamber, a belt extended through said passageway to said shaft, and a belt housing positioned in said passageway and enclosing said belt and shaft at their junction, said housing being formed with a wall facing said eye and with side walls extended in the direction of the belt, said firstmentioned wall sloping outwardly from said fan chamber from a point ahead of said eye and extending adjacent said eye and at a distance therefrom, said side walls extending closely adjacent said belt and with said first-mentioned wail form.- ing in said passageway a belt-receiving opening forward of said eye and facing therefrom.

3. In a suction cleaner of the belt-driven agitator type, a fan chamber having an eye, an air passageway extended along said chamber and having a removable portion at said eye to give access to the interior of said passageway, a drive shaft extended through said chamber into said passageway, a fan on said shaft in said chamber, a belt extended through said passageway to said shaft, and a belt housing positioned in said passageway and enclosing said belt and shaft at their junction, said housing being formed with a wall facing said eye and with side walls extended inthe direction of the belt, said first-mentioned wall sloping outwardly from contact with said fan chamber from a point ahead of said eye and extending adjacent said eye and at a distance therefrom, said side walls extending closely adjacent J 50 portion and there secured to the wall of said passaid belt to a point forward of said removable sageway opposite said fan chamber, the side of said housing adjacent said removable portion being open to permit access to the junction of the belt and shaft upon the removal of said portion.

' BERNARD C. BECKER. 

